Tips To Build Powerful Brand Collaborations [+Examples]

Traditional in-your-face advertising has lost its power to convince people to make a purchase. Customers have developed a more sophisticated taste due to the fierce market segmentation in most industries and demand more of brands. In 2022, brand collaborations have become more important than ever for growing a business successfully. Why? Because when two or more brands team up, they can reach a whole new audience that they may have never had access to before.

Not only that, but collaborative efforts often result in higher-quality content and products than either brand could not have created on its own (at least not with the same scope of influence).

Brand collaborations can be a powerful way to increase exposure for your business and to create unique, marketable products. If done correctly, these partnerships can help you expand your client base and strengthen relationships with existing customers.

Of course, not every brand collaboration is guaranteed to be effective. In order to make sure your next collaborative effort is a smashing success, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

What Are Brand Collaborations and Why Are They Important?

Brand collaborations are partnerships between two or more brands with the goal of marketing a product or service to their combined customer base. These partnerships can take many different forms, from co-branded content to joint social media campaigns.

Benefits of Brand Collaborations

There are numerous benefits that can come from collaborating with other brands, including:

• Exposure: When two or more brands join forces, they immediately have access to each other’s customer base. This can help businesses reach a whole new audience and refine their message to match more various profiles.
• Quality: Collaborative efforts often result in higher-quality content and products. This is because each business is able to focus on what they do best and then bring that expertise to the table.
• Efficiency: One of the main benefits of brand collaborations is that they can help businesses be more efficient with their time and resources. By teaming up with another company, you can share the workload and get more done in less time.
• Sales: In many cases, brand collaborations lead to an increase in sales for both companies involved. This is because businesses are able to reach a larger audience and create products that are more appealing to customers.

Types of Brand Collaborations

There are many different types of brand collaborations, and the best one for your business will depend on your goals and objectives. Here are a few of the most common types of brand partnerships:

1. Co-Branding
2. Joint Promotions
3. Content Marketing
4. Social Media

Co-Branding: Co-branding is when two or more brands team up to create a new product or service. This can be done by simply combining two existing products or by creating something entirely new. For example, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have teamed up to create a McCafe line of coffee drinks.

Joint Promotions: Joint promotions are when two or more brands collaborate to offer discounts or prizes to customers. This is a great way to increase sales and exposure for both companies involved. For example, many airlines offer joint promotions with credit card companies that give customers the chance to earn double or triple miles.

Content Marketing: Content marketing collaborations are when two or more brands create content that promotes each other’s products or services. This can be done by creating co-branded blog posts, infographics, or even videos. For example, many fashion brands will team up with popular bloggers to create style guides that feature their products.

Social Media: Social media is a great way for brands to collaborate and reach a larger audience. This can be done by co-hosting Twitter chats, creating joint Instagram campaigns, or even partnering up for Facebook Live videos.

5 Steps To Build Powerful Brand Collaborations

If you’re interested in building powerful brand collaborations, here are 5 steps you can take:

1. Do your research and identify potential partners.

Not all brand collaborations are created equal, and it’s important to choose the right partners if you want to achieve your desired results.

• Goals: The first step is to identify your goals and objectives for the collaboration. What do you hope to achieve?
• Audience: Who is your target audience? Make sure to choose partners that have a similar target audience so you can reach more consumers.
• Values: It’s important to partner with brands that share similar values so the collaboration feels natural and authentic.

2. Reach out and start the conversation.

The next step is to reach out to potential partners and start the conversation. This can be done by sending a direct message on social media, reaching out via email, or even meeting in person if possible.

3. Propose a collaboration idea.

Once you’ve had a chance to chat with potential partners, it’s time to pitch your collaboration idea. When proposing it to potential partner, be sure to keep the following in mind:

• What’s in it for them? Make sure your proposal is beneficial for both parties involved.
• What’s the end goal? Clearly state what you hope to achieve with the collaboration.
• What’s the timeline? Be realistic about timing and give yourself enough time to properly execute the collaboration.

4. Negotiate the details.

Once you’ve found a potential partner that’s interested in your proposal, it’s time to start negotiating the details. This is where you’ll finalize things like the scope of the collaboration, what each brand will contribute, and any deadlines that need to be met.

5. Get started on executing the collaboration.

After all the details have been ironed out, it’s time to start working on the collaboration. This is where you’ll need to put in the time and effort to create content, promote the collaboration, and track your results.

Brand collaborations can be a great way to reach new consumers and achieve your business goals.

Examples Of Inspiring Brand Collaborations

Looking for some inspiration? Here are a few examples of successful brand collaborations:

1. Lululemon and Outdoor Voices

Lululemon, a yoga-inspired athletic wear company, teamed up with Outdoor Voices, an active wear brand for “Doing Things” (i.e. running, hiking, biking, etc.), and worked on a joint collection designed to inspire people to live a more active lifestyle.

2. Nike and Off-White

Nike teamed up with Virgil Abloh, the founder of the street wear brand Off-White, to create a co-branded collection of sneakers. The collection was incredibly popular and sold out almost immediately.

3. Hershey’s and Reese’s

Hershey’s and Reese’s are two iconic candy brands that have been collaborating for years. One of their most recent collaborations is a limited edition “Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie,” which is a Hershey’s chocolate cookie with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup filling.

4. J.Crew and New Balance

J.Crew, a clothing brand, teamed up with New Balance, a sneaker company, and built a co-branded collection of sneakers. The collection featured three different styles of sneakers, all of which were designed to be worn with J.Crew’s signature preppy style.

5. Target and Lilly Pulitzer

Target and Lilly Pulitzer, a clothing brand known for its bright and colorful prints, teamed up to create a co-branded collection of clothes, home goods, and beauty products. The collection was incredibly popular and sold out almost immediately.

6. ASOS + Coca-Cola

ASOS, a clothing retailer, teamed up with Coca-Cola on a co-branded collection of clothes and accessories. The collection featured a mix of ASOS’ signature style and Coca-Cola’s iconic branding.

7. Topshop and Adidas

Topshop, a clothing retailer, partnered up with Adidas, a sneaker company, on a unique collection of sneakers. The collection was designed to be worn with Topshop’s signature edgy style.

8. H&M + Balmain

H&M, a clothing retailer, joined forces with Balmain, a high-end fashion brand, to make a co-branded collection of clothes. The collection was incredibly popular and sold out almost immediately.

9. Forever 21 + Barbie

Forever 21, a clothing retailer, teamed up with Barbie, a Mattel toy brand, and worked on a clothes collection designed to appeal to Barbie’s young fans.

10. Sephora + Pantone

Sephora, a beauty retailer, collaborated with Pantone, a color matching system, to create the “Pantone Color IQ” lipstick. The lipstick was designed to match any skin tone and was available in 36 different shades.

11. Snapchat + McDonald’s

Snapchat, a messaging app, teamed up with McDonald’s and built the “McDonald’s” filter. The filter allowed users to add McDonald’s branding to their Snapchat photos and videos.

Bottom Line

Brand collaborations are a great way to grow your business while providing value to your customers. By following the five steps outlined in this post, you can identify and execute powerful partnerships that will help you with exposure, quality, efficiency, and sales.

Need some inspiration? Check out the examples of inspiring brand collaborations we’ve listed.

With a little creativity and effort, you can create collaborative partnerships that benefit both you and your customers.